Envelop-sealing and stamp-affixing machine.



S. G. KINDIG & W. WITTLER. ENVELOP SEALING AND STAMP AFFIXING MACHINE.

APPLIOATIQN FILED 313.17, 190a.

914,350, Patented Mar. 2, 1909.

5 sums-sum 1.

7m: mmms FETERS i0" \vAsnmaron, n. c.

Patented Mar. 2, 1909. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

S; G. KINDIG & W. WITTL'ER.

ENVELOP SEALING AND STAMP AFFIXING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED I'EB.17, 1908. 914,350..

ms mamas PETERS 5a., WASHINGTON. n.

S. GQKINDIG & W. WITTLER. ENVBLOP SEALING AND STAMP AITIXING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17, 190B.

Patented Mar. 2, 1909. 5 B EEETSSHEET 3.

1m: NORRIS PETERS co., wnsmgc-rou, n. c.

S. G. KINDIG & W. WITI'LER. BNVELOP SEALING AND STAMP AFFIXING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB/17, 1908.

Patented Mar. 2, 1909 5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

THE NORRIS PETERS cc, WASHINGTON, n. c.

S. G. KINDIG & W. WITTLER. ENVELOP SEALING AND STAMP AFFIXING MAGHINE.APPLIOATION IILHD FEB. 17, 1908.

914,35& Patented Mar. 2,1909.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5- -ll'NTTEll) STATE8 PATENT QFFTCEQ SAMUEL O. KINDLG ANDWILLIAM WITTLER, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND; SAID KINDIG ASSIGNOR TO SAIDWITTLER.

ENVELOP-SEALING AND STAMP-AFFIXING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 2, 1909.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, SAMUEL C. KINDIG and ll ILLIAiWI VVrr'rLEn,citizens of the United States, residing at Baltimore city, State ofMaryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Envelop-Sealing and StampAlfiXing Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in envelop sealing andstampaffixing machines.

Among the objects of the invention are: to provide a device in which awhole sheet of stamps, of any denomination, may be carried andautomatically fed over the envelops in position to be secured thereto;to auto matically moisten the stamps, one at a time, just before passingover the envelop to which it is to be afliXed; to provide means todisconnect each stamp from the sheet as it is being placed on theenvelop; to automatically seal each envelop at the time the stamp isbeing placed thereon; to provide means for moistening the gummed edge ofthe envelop before being sealed and stamped, and to automaticallydischarge the envelops after they have been sealed and stamped.

The invention consists of the novel parts and combinations of partshereinafter more fully set forth in the following specification andpointed out in detail in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,Figure 1 is a top plan view of ourinvention with the carriage at the extreme end in position to advancewith the sheet of stamps. Fig. 2 is a front elevation. Fig. 3 is an endelevation. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation, partly in section. Fig. 5 is adetailed perspective view of the plunger and the operating parts. Fig. 6is a detailed sectional view of the water cylinder. Fig. 7 is a verticalsectional view of the water receptacle.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, and in which like reference numerals designate like partsthroughout the several views, 1 designates the base, 2 the stampcarriage, and 3 the envelop rest.

The stamp carriage 2 is slidably mounted on the vertical inclinedprojection 4 of the base and is provided with ball bearings Thiscarriage 2 is provided with a flat table 6 having a guide 7 projectingupwardly at one end to guide the sheet of stamps between the rollers 8and 9. The carriage travels along the upper inclined surface of theprojection 1 by gravitation. The rollers 8 and 9 are mounted in bearings10 and 11, respectively, at each end. The upper bearings 11 are pivotedat 12 and are held to their normal positions, with the rollers together,by the springs 13 which latter exert their tension against the rear fiatends of said bearings 11. The bearings 11 may be raised against theaction of the springs 13 for the purpose of removing the rollers 8 and9. The top roller 9 is provided with a small wheel 14 by means of whichthe said roller may be revolved to turn the stamps out to their properposition. The carriage 2 is also provided with a pointer 15 to indicatethe distance the stamps project beyond the rollers 8 and 9, the sheetprojecting out until the first row of perforations come on a line withthe said pointer. The carriage 2 rests upon the top surface of theinclined projection 4: and has a grooved piece 16 secured to its loweredge which projects under the lower surface of said projection 4. Ballbearings 5 are between the top of the projection a and the carriage andalso between the lower surface of said projection and the piece 16.

On one side, just above the projection 1, the carriage 2 is providedwith notches, or teeth, 22 spaced to allow the carriage to move forwarda predetermined distance and into which projects the escapement levers17 and 18. The lever 17 is pivoted at 19 and the lever 18 is pivoted at20, to the upper surface of the projection 4. The lever 18 is providedwith an approximately V- shaped cut out 21 into which projects thepointed end of the lever 17, and is held normally in engagement with theteeth 22 by the tension of the spring 23. A lever 24 is pivoted at 25 inthe bifurcated outer end of the arm 26 of the sleeve 27, and has itslower surface normally resting upon the upper inner end of the lever 17,and its lower end connected by a spring 28 to the sleeve 27. When theplunger 29 is forced down it carries with it the shaft 30 and arm 26,and consequently the lever 24:, the end of which latter is forced upagainst the action of the spring 28 until it passes below the lever 17at which point the said spring 28 will cause the lever 24 to return toits normal position. When the plunger is released it will be raised bythe spring 31 carrying with it the sleeve 27 and arm 26 and causing theinclined upper surface of the lever 24 to contact with the lower surfaceof the lever 17 and force the front end of the latter inwardly in linewith the teeth 22. At the same time the rear end of the lever 17 willforce the free end of the lever 18 out of engagement with the teeth 22against the action of the spring 23 and allow the carriage to moveforward slightly until one of the teeth strikes the end of the lever 17,but as soon as the lever 24 passes above the lever 17 the spring 23 willforce the lever 18 into engagement and the lever 17 out of engagementwith the teeth 22, thus allowing the carriage to move by gravitationdown the inclined upper surface of the projection 4 to the next tooth22. The lower end of the shaft projects into a block 32 on the base 1.The plunger 29 is provided with an arm 33 on one end of which is asquare plate 34 which cooperates with the knives 35 and 36 on the endand side, respectively, of the envelop rest 3. The other end of the arm33 is provided with a bearing 38 through which the stem 39 of theenvelop sealer 40 projects, the said sealer 40 being held in the bearing38 by a pin 41 passing through the stem 39 and resting in the slot 42. Acoiled spring 43 surrounds the stem 39 between the sealer 40 and the pin41. Just back of the plunger 29 and projecting from the envelop rest 3is a small rest 44 over which the stamps pass before they go under theplunger. Pivoted to the rest 44 is a guide 45 under which the stampspass and which serves to hold the said stamps down against themoistening apparatus. This moistening apparatus consists of a receptacle46 made of suitable material to hold water, and has a rest 47 at itsupper end upon which one end of a strip 48 of absorbent material rests,the other end of said strip projecting into the water. Above the saidrest 47 and j ournaled in the sides of the receptacle 46 is a shaft 49one end of which is bent down on the outside of said receptacle andforms a lever 50. Projecting from the shaft 49 down to near the uppersurface of the rest 47 are two prongs which project into the strip 48and which serve to raise and lower the latter by turning the lever 50.Two pins 51 and 52 project from the side of the receptacle far enough tolimit the movement of the lever the rear pin 52, however, being adaptedto be forced in far enough to allow the lever 50 to be turned back todisconnect the prongs from the strip 48. The upper end of the receptacle46 fits back of the pin 53 on the under surface of the rest 44 and itslower end rests upon the spring catch 54. The upper end of thereceptacle 46 is under the rest 44 with the absorbent strip 48projecting up in position to moisten the gummed surfaces of the stampsas they pass one at a time to the plunger.

The mechanism for discharging the envelops consists of an arm 55 pivotedat its lower end to the projection 4 and having a cross-head 56 at itsupper end which projects into a cut-out 57 at the back of the enveloprest 3, the said arm 55 being held to its normal position by a flatspring 58 which is pivoted at 59 and has its free end resting againstthe flat surface 60 at the lower end of the said arm 55. A lever 61 ispivoted in the slot 62 and is held to its normal position by the flatspring 64 pivoted to the back of the arm 55. Projecting over the top ofsaid lever 61 is an arm 65 which is integral with the sleeve 27, and hasan inclined upper surface 66. l/Vhen the plunger is forced down the arm65 strikes the upper surface of the lever 61 and forces it back againstthe action of the spring 64 and allows the arm 65 to pass below saidlever 61. i/Vhen the plunger is released and is moved upward by itsspring, the inclined surface of the arm 65 will strike the lowerinclined surface of the lever 61 and throw the arm 55, back on its pivotand when the lever 65 passes above the lever 61 and releases the latterthe arm 55 will be thrown back to its normal position by the spring 58causing the cross-head 56 to strike the envelop and throw it from therest 3.

The envelop moistening device consists of a rest 67 secured at one endto the lower surface of the envelop rest and having a vertical. back 68to which is slidably fixed a wire frame 69, the said frame beingsliclable in the eyes 7 O on the side of the back 68 and is normallyheld down by the action of the.

coiled spring 71 which latter has one end secured to the said frame andthe other end secured to the back 68. The lower ends of the frame arebent at right angles to form bearings for the cylinder 72. The frame isalso bent near its ends to form the feet 73 which project slightly belowthe cylinder 72 to prevent wetting the contents of the envelops. Theframe is also provided with loops 74 which serve as a means to raise theframe and also to force the lower end outwardly to insert the envelopsin position. The cylinder 72 is hollow and is provided with removablecaps 75 at each end which latter are provided with apertures 76 for thereception of the bent ends of the frame 69. The cylinder 72 is alsoprovided with a number of apertures 77 through which water passes to theabsorbent material 78 surrounding said cylinder.

The operation of the device is as follows: The roller 72 having beenfilled with water, the envelops are piled one upon the other on the rest67 with their flaps projecting upwardly back of the cylinder 72. As eachenvelop is pulled from the pile the gummed surface drags along theabsorbent material on the cylinder 72 revolving the latter andmoistening the said gummed surface of the envelop. The envelop is thenturned with the flap down and placed on the rest 3 and under the sealerin position to be sealed and stamped. The sheet of stamps having beenplaced in position and the first stamp moistened and passed under theplunger, the latter is forced down causing the square place on the endof the plunger to cooperate with the knives cutting off the stamp andforcing it down upon the envelop. At the same time the sealer is forceddown with the plunger and seals the envelop, the flap of which haspreviously been moistened as described. When the plunger is released theenvelop which has been stamped and sealed will be discharged and thecarriage moved forward ready for the stamping and sealing of the nextenvelop, as heretofore described.

A wire basket 7 9, such as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, may beemployed if desired to catch the envelops as they are discharged fromthe envelop rest 3.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. In a stamp-affixing machine, the combination of a base, a stampcarriage mounted upon said base, a plunger to force the stamps down uponthe envelop, means operated by the said plunger to advance the carriagea predetermined distance, and means operated by the plunger to dischargethe envelop after it is stamped.

2. In a stamp-a'liixing machine, the combination of a base, a stampcarriage mounted upon said base, a plunger to force the stamps down uponthe envelops, means operated by the said plunger to permit the carriageto advance a predetermined distance, and a sealer carried by the plungerand adapted to seal the envelop as the stamp is affixed.

3. In a stan'ip-attixing and envelop sealing machine, the combination ofan inclined base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said inclined base, aplunger to force the stamps upon the envelops, means operated by theplunger to permit the carriage to advance a predetermined distance, anda sealer carried by the plunger and adapted to seal the envelop at thesame time the stamp is affixed.

4. In a stamp-atlixing and envelop sealing machine, the combination ofan inclined base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said inclined base, aplunger to force the stamps upon the envelops, means operated by theplunger to permit the carriage to advance a predetermined distance, asealer carried by the plunger and adapted to seal the envelop at thesame time the stamp is atlixed, and means to moisten the envelop flapbefore the envelop is sealed.

In a stamp-atfixing machine, the combination of an inclined base, astamp carriage mounted upon said inclined base and having teeth on oneside thereof, a plunger to force the stamps upon the envelops,escapement levers pivoted to the base and adapted to engage the saidteeth, means operated by the said plunger for operating the saidescapement levers to permit the carriage to advance a predetermineddistance, and means operated by the plunger to discharge the envelopafter it is sealed.

6. In a stamp-affixing and envelop sealing machine, the combination of abase, a stamp carriage mounted upon said base, a plunger to force thestamps down upon the envelops, means operated by the said plunger topermit the carriage to advance a predetermined distance, a sealercarried by the plunger and adapted to seal the envelop as the stamp isaffixed, and means operated by the plunger to discharge the envelopafter it is sealed.

7. In a stamp-aflixing and envelop sealing ma chine, the combination ofan inclined base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said inclined base, aplunger to force the stamps upon the envelops, means operated by theplunger to permit the carriage to advance a predetermined distance, asealer carried by the plunger and adapted to seal the envelop at thesame time the stamp is affiXed, means to moisten the envelop flap beforeit is sealed, and means operated by the plunger to dis charge theenvelop after it is sealed.

8. In a stamp-affixing and envelop-sealing machine, the combination ofan inclined base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said inclined base, aplunger to force the stamps upon the envelops, an envelop sealer, meanscooperating with the plunger to operate the sealer, and meanscooperating with the plunger to permit the stamp carriage to operate.

9. In a stamp-affixing and envelop-sealing machine, the combination of abase, a stamp carriage mounted upon said base, an envelop sealer, aplunger, and means operated by said plunger which when the plunger isforced down will operate the envelop sealer and when the plunger isreleased will permit the carriage to advance a predetermined distance.

10. In a stamp-affixing and envelop sealing machine, the combination ofan inclined base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said inclined base andoperated by gravitation when released, a plunger, means to moisten thestamps before they pass under the plunger, an envelop sealer, an envelopdischarger, and means operated by the plunger for operating the envelopsealer and envelop discharger.

11. In a stamp-afiixing and envelop-sealing machine, the combination ofan inclined base, a stamp carriage mounted upon said base, two rollerscarried by the said carriage, an envelop rest, a plunger, an envelopsealer arranged above said envelop rest, an envelop discharger at therear of said envelop rest, and means which when the plunger is forcedate the envelop sealer and when the plunger is released will allow thecarriage to move by gravitation a predetermined distance on the saidbase.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in presence of twoWitnesses.

SAMUEL C. KINDIG. WILLIAM WITTLER. Witnesses CHAPIN A. FERGUSON, JEAN JAYES.

